Signaling apparatus for mail-boxes.



PATENTED JAN. 7

T. H. SPARKS. SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR MAIL BOXES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10, 1907.

THOMAS H. SPARKS, OF WICH ITA, KANSAS.

storm-LING srmaa'rus ron unnno'xns.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 7, 1908.

Application filed July 10- 1907- Serial No. 388-019.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. SPARKS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Wichita, in the county of Sedgwick and State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Im rovements in Signaling Apparatus forMail-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use same,reference eing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters andfigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in signalsespecially adapted for rural'free delivery mail boxes and consists inthe provision of means whereby a mail carrier may cause a signal to bedisplayed when the mail is deposited in the box and also arranged sothat a signal may be sent for the collection of mail.

The invention consists further in the provision of a signaling ap aratusfor mail boxes, so arranged that t e signal may be operated by themovement of the door of the box and com rises various details ofconstruction an combinations and arrangements of parts which will behereinafter fully described and then specifically defined in theappended claims.

illustrate my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Flgure 1is a side elevation of a mail box showmg in solid lines a signal set inone position and in dotted lines in another osition. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the signa actuating mechanism, and Fig. 3 is a crosssectional view.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A'desinates a mail box which may be of any suita le kind, ro-

vided with a'hingpd lid orclosure B. Flxed to the side of the ox is ahood D and E designates a shaft which is'pivotall A mounted 1n suitablebearings in the wall 0 the box and said hood.

F desi ates a ratchet Wheel which is fixed to the s aft E and isprovided preferably with three indentures or notches upon itscircumference.

H designates a pawl pivotally mounted u on a pin H and adapted to bear aainst e circumference of said ratchet whee and, by engaging one oranother of the notches or indentures thereon, cause the ratchet Wheel tobe prevented from rotating in one direction.

A segment gear N has an arm N which is loosely mounted upon the shaft Eand its upper end is L-shaped in cross section, as shown clearly in Fig.3 of the drawings, and is ada ted to straddle said ratchet Wheel. A pawK is fixed to said segment and is adapted to bear a ainst thecircumference of the ratchet whee and engage one or another of thenotches therein, as said segment is rocked upon its pivot pin, therebycausing an intermittent movement to be imparted to the ratchet wheel.

A second segment, designated upon the drawings by letter M, is fixed tothe edge of the door or lid B and adapted to rock therewith. The teethof the two segments M and N are adapted to intermesh whereby the twosegments may be moved in unison.

O and O designate two arms which are fixed to the shaft E and each armcarries a flag Q utilized as a signal. Said arms are positionedpreferably in the manner shown in the drawlngs so that, when one-thirdof a rotary movement is imparted to the ratchet wheel, either one or theother of said signals will be thrown to an indicating position or, inthe event of neither one or the other of the two signals being thrown toindicate whether mail has been left or whether it is to be collected, noflag will be displayed which will indicate that there is neither mail inthe box to be delivered or to be collected.

In operation, when mail is being delivered, the lid to the box is letdown to insert the mail, after which the door may be opened and closedone or more times to bring the proper display signal into position toindicate that mail has been delivered. When the mail has been collectedand in the event of mail being deposited in the box for collection bythe carrier, the door or lid may be swung back and forth in order tobring the pfroper signal for the carrier and, in the event 0 tcollected, the door may be 0 erated to brin both of the signals down heow the box an thereby display no flag at all.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that, by the provision of theapparatus shown and described, a sim le and eflicient signal mailapparatus is a orded whereby with little trouble a carrier mayautomatically adjust the signals if mail is delivered in the box or erebeing neither mail to be delivered or deposited for collection, thesignals being entirely under control of the hinged lid or 010- sure.

What I claim to be new is 1. A signal for mail boxes comprising, incombinationwith a box having a hinged door, two intermeshing segmentgears, one of which is fixed to the door, a shaft upon which the otheris loosely mounted, signals fixed to said shaft, and means for rotatingsfaidhshaft as the segments are rocked, as set ort 2. A signal for mailboxes comprising, in

combination with a box having a hinged door, two intermeshing segmentgears, one of which is fixed to the door, a shaft u on which the otheris loosely mounted, signa s fixed to said shaft, a ratchet wheel fixedto said shaft, means for preventing the ratchet wheel from rotating inone direction, and a pawl carried by one of the segment gears andengaging the ratchet wheel, whereby the latter may be given anintermittent movement as the gear segments rock, as set forth.

3. A signal for mail boxes comprising, in

combination with a box having a hinged door, two intermeshing segmentgears, one of which is fixed to the door, a shaft upon which the otheris loosely mounted, signals fixed 'to said shaft, a ratchet wheel fixedto said shaft, a pawl carried by the box and adapted to prevent theratchet wheel from rotating in one direction, a pawl carried by the gearsegment 'upon said shaft and adapted to engage and impart anintermittent movement to the ratchet wheel, as set forth.

4. A' signal for mail boxes com rising, in combination with a box, ahinged oor, a segmentgear fixed to said door, a shaft mounted insuitable bearings u on the box, a ratchet wheel fixed to said s aft, apawl carried by the box and adapted to prevent the ratchet wheel fromrotating in one direction, a segment gear journaled upon said shaft andhaving an angled portion extending over said ratchet wheel, a pawlcarried by the angled portion of said gear and adapted to engage theratchet wheel to impart inter mittent rotary movements thereto, andsignal arms fixed to said shaft, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

THOMAS H. SPARKS.

Witnesses r A. L. HOUGH, i FRANKLIN H. HOUGH.

